Camp
by MissMoony7575
Summary: Coop 150 schoolchildren up at one campsite. Make them find their way through the bush. Give them 7 days. Add in Scorpia and a few other criminals, along with someone who was meant to be dead. What do you get? A disaster, that’s what.
1. The Man

Alex Rider was bored.

MI6 hadn't contacted him in 3 months, 15 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 39 seconds. 40, now.

No matter how much he tried to convince himself that he was content with this restful life, he wasn't. He had experienced the real world. He couldn't handle everyone treating him like a kid, when he had experienced far more than any of them had.

It wasn't only the fact that he was being underestimated by everyone around him. Without being in the midst of action, Alex felt that he wasn't achieving anything. He didn't feel like he was doing something for the world – one of the only things he got out of spying. He felt like he was wasting his life.

He had been tempted, he admitted, to march right up to the MI6 headquarters and demand some kind of attention. A well done, or a thank you, if they didn't want to employ him any more. Even better, a new mission. But there was nothing. No contact whatsoever. And Alex hated it.

However, every time he'd passed the Royal and General bank, he told himself he didn't want that life back. He told himself he wanted _this _life – the life he was living now. So he passed the bank, and kept living his life.

It had reached a point where he wanted to explode. He'd been keeping everything in for so long, that he didn't think he could hold his self-control any longer. He wanted something, _anything_, to happen.

'Alex! Alex! Earth to Alex!' Tom's voice cut through Alex's thoughts and brought him back to reality.

'What is it?' asked Alex tiredly.

'Did you not _hear_ what that assembly was about?' Tom asked incredulously. Obviously, Alex thought, it was something that Tom was excited about. He was grinning from ear to ear and his eyes sparkled with glee.

'No, I didn't,' Alex said.

'We're going on camp!' said Tom. Alex sighed. Of course Tom would find that exciting. To Alex, however, camp seemed like it would be a bore. How wrong he was.

'Oh, ok,' said Alex. 'That's great!' He tried to sound interested, he really did.

'What's wrong?' asked Tom. 'You know, I wasn't going to ask, but you've been really out of it lately.'

Alex wondered about the best way to answer that question. Should he tell Tom? No, he'd already told him that he was fine with this life.

'When have I ever been with it, lately?' Alex asked, with a hint of sarcasm. Tom paused. Maybe Alex had been too sarcastic – for a second he was afraid that he'd insulted his best friend.

'You're bummed about… _you know what._'

Alex didn't know Tom could read his mind, but then again, Alex wasn't as mysterious as he thought he was. He looked at Tom incredulously.

'Are you serious? I would never be! I'm glad they're leaving me alone!' Tom noticed that Alex was talking a little too fast, and was being more emphatic than he usually was.

'Yeah right,' said Tom. Alex stared at him, giving him an exasperated look.

'Really,' lied Alex. 'What were you saying about this camp?' he asked, hoping Tom would be so excited about camp that he'd drop the subject of MI6. He was right.

'It's not normal camp, Alex! We're going camping!'

'That's cool,' lied Alex.

'With tents! We're going to go bushwalking for 7 days, and we're not always going to have teachers on our back! Isn't that awesome? We have to pitch our own tents, and cook our own food, and everything!' said Tom. Alex almost sighed. It sounded more like a pain in the neck to him.

'You aren't excited?' asked Tom, seeing the look on Alex's face – or rather, the lack of a look on his face.

'I am excited, Tom,' Alex lied again. 'Really.'

'We're going in two weeks, so you'd better start packing!' said Tom, obviously believing that lie. Perhaps Alex was getting better.

'Alright Tom. Have a good weekend,' said Alex, walking off.

'Bye!' replied Tom. As soon as his friend was out of sight, Tom let out a sigh. There was something wrong with Alex, and he was determined to fix it.

x.x.x

2 weeks seemed to go by unbelievably quickly for Alex Rider. Before he knew it, the school had organised the groups, and somehow Alex found himself completely not ready the night before.

'YOU HAVEN'T PACKED?!' Tom shouted into the receiver. Alex jumped and held the phone a few centimetres away from his ear.

'I've been… busy,' said Alex.

'Well why on earth are you talking to me then? Go and pack!' ordered Tom, who subsequently hung up. Alex sighed. He supposed he would have to pack.

'Jack, I'm going up to pack, ok?' he called out.

'You haven't packed?!' asked Jack incredulously. Alex sighed.

'No, not yet,' he answered.

'Hurry up then!' said Jack, and resumed cooking.

Alex trudged upstairs and entered his room. He picked up the packing list that he had gotten from school, and started to pack. He couldn't make his bag too heavy, because he would have to walk with it, and so he needed to use every gram wisely. He brought the bare necessities for clothes – just one spare outfit and a few briefs. He packed matches, a water bottle, a torch, a length of rope, an electric lantern, some canned food, and a few other things, and before he knew it, his pack was full.

Standing up, satisfied, he tried picking up the pack.

It was too heavy.

He considered – what didn't he need? He supposed he could take out the electric lantern. The torch should be enough. He also took out the batteries needed to power the lantern. He took out some of the canned food, and took out the cutlery as well. He could eat with his hands.

He tried the pack again – it was light enough this time.

Bracing himself for a tiring day, Alex turned off the lights and fell asleep.

x.x.x

The man opened the window silently, and crept in. He didn't expect Alex's security to be so low. Alex should have known better.

In the moonlight, the man studied the room. Alex was sleeping peacefully in bed on the opposite side of the room, and a large backpack lay next to his bed. That was right. His bushwalking trip was tomorrow.

The man treaded lightly, not making a sound. A bird called outside, and Alex stirred, but didn't awaken. The man continued across the room, and stood on the left side of Alex's bed.

He watched Alex's regulated breathing for a few minutes as the boy's muscular chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm. The man watched Alex's face – he was frowning, as if something was bothering him. The man knew exactly what had been bothering Alex. MI6.

In a rare moment of showing his emotions, the man smiled at Alex. Alex didn't see the smile – and that was the way the man wanted to keep it. The man paused for a second, and then sighed.

He had to leave.

Silently, he crept back to the window and left, leaving no signs that he was ever there.


	2. I'm Fine

I'm overwhelmed by the response to the first chapter! Thank you, all of you!

Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'm sorry if it's moving a little slow, but I swear they'll get into the camping/bushwalking thing next chapter!

Please review and tell me if you like the OCs :D.

-Lauren

x.x.x

Alex found himself awake far before the sun had even risen.

The school had insisted they left early so they had time to travel to the location and still get a full day. Alex had to be at school by 5 am, and he wasn't happy about it. Grumpily he trudged downstairs, to find Jack whistling and making scrambled eggs for him. That almost made him smile, but not quite.

'Morning, Alex! If you'd call this morning,' she said, smiling at him. He made an attempt to smile back.

'Morning Jack,' he replied.

'Have you got all your stuff ready?' she asked cheerily. Alex nodded in response. He ate the scrambled eggs – they almost made up for having to wake up so early, and made his way to school.

When he arrived, Tom and the rest of his group were waiting for him. The groups had been organised at school, and there were 10 people in each group.

Alex was in the same group as Tom, and a few others.

Mark was one of the jocks of the school; the "popular" group, the group that supposedly got all the girls. He was well-built and rather tall, and looked older than he actually was. At that point, he was in a foul mood. The teachers had broken up his group of friends (which Alex was surprised he even had) – who knows what they would have done if they were put together, and he wasn't happy about it. He was always sarcastic and rude, and Alex found that he didn't like Mark much at all.

Lucy was a headstrong Asian girl who was good at everything except for sports. She was unanimously voted the team strategist – owing to her skills in maths and engineering. She would be useful because she knew the best way to start a fire, and how to sustain themselves if they lost their food, but Alex didn't suspect she could keep up with the pace of the rest of them – she was rather unfit due to the fact that she didn't play any sports.

Erin, on the other hand, was an athletic girl, and quite fit. She ran in the school marathon, and represented the school at State level. Alex suspected that she would have a lot of endurance, which was good for a bushwalking trip. She wasn't the brightest of people, but she was cheery and good fun most of the time.

James was a new friend of Alex's, who was new to the school. He was rather funny, but his sense of humour was rather sarcastic and dry. He was a new competitor for Alex and Tom in the sporting field – he was sporty and motivated. All the girls seemed to think he was rather handsome, as they did Tom and Alex, and they were often called the Golden Trio.

May was a quiet girl who didn't even seem like she wanted to be on this trip. She was studious and hardworking, didn't talk much, and avoided having conversations with people. Her real personality was a mystery to Alex – he didn't know much about her at all. Nor did anyone else, for that matter.

Holly was Lucy's friend, but unlike Lucy, was rather sporty, though not nearly as sporty as Erin. She was an all rounder – she knew a little bit about science and maths, and knew a little about sport and everything else in between.

Phillip was a computer geek – who didn't look like he fitted on this trip either. He wore thick black glasses, and got into a fight with the teacher when she said that he couldn't bring his Game Boy. He packed it regardless, however. He knew everything there was to know about computers, Star Wars and video games. He was unfit, and though he was smart, Alex didn't think he would be much use in this trip.

And finally, there was Caitlin. She was a tomboy, and played soccer, tennis, basketball, and she would have played rugby if the school had let her. She was friends with Erin, and they frequently pitted themselves against each other on the sporting field. She was rather sarcastic and quite rebellious – the first time the school had told her there was no girls rugby team, she snuck into the boys team, knocked out one of their members and pretended to be him. The funniest thing was, the school didn't even notice until after the game, where she was scolded and received several detentions. She was fun when she wasn't in a bad mood, but when she was angry, she was dangerous.

'Ready?' asked Caitlin.

'Yeah,' replied Alex unenthusiastically.

'Come on, Alex, let's get on the bus then!' said James, grinning. Alex suspected he shared Tom's insane excitement about the trip, from the way he was acting.

The bus was already half-filled when they got on, and so Alex found himself sitting next to the last person he wanted to – Sabina.

In the months that MI6 hadn't contacted him, Sabina had moved back to England, and came to Alex's school. Things were rather awkward between her and Alex at the moment – the dinner they had right after Alex had come back from Australia was pleasant, but Alex had soon found out that she was dating someone else and though she looked genuinely sorry when she said it, Alex knew she was happy with her new boyfriend, Josh. Alex hated the name. There was an unspoken taboo of talking about the incident with Damian Cray, and Alex found that even though they had gotten along very well in the past, there was nothing to talk to her about.

From across the aisle, Alex could see Tom raising his eyebrows suggestively and grinning. Alex groaned. He knew Tom was going to do something stupid like that. He turned back to Sabina, and said,

'Sorry. Tom's a little…'

'I know, Alex,' she said, giving her that killer smile. Alex fought the blush that was growing on his face.

There was an awkward silence between the two, but the rest of the bus was very noisy. Alex heard Caitlin's unmistakeable laugh ring out. James sniggered. And neither Alex nor Sabina said a word.

The teachers supervising the trip got on the bus last, and after the usual safety speech, they were off. Alex chose to pretend that he was interested by the scenery out the window, using it as an excuse not to talk to Sabina. She, too, looked out the window. Occasionally one of them would make a comment, such as 'look at the horses,' to which the other would just nod. It was an awkward situation. Alex was tempted to get up and change seats in the next toilet stop, but he knew it would be offensive to Sabina, even if she wanted to do the exact same thing.

Growing bored of the scenery, Alex turned around to look at the rest of the bus. Caitlin was sitting with Erin, and they were talking, frequently bursting out in laughter. Alex could only guess what they were talking about. Lucy and Holly were sitting a few seats away, doing basically the same thing. James and Tom looked like they were having a good time too, and whenever they glanced at Alex, they egged him on silently, knowing that he liked Sabina. He grew rather tired of this after a while, and simply ignored them. May was sitting by herself near the front and she was reading a book and listening to her iPod. Alex wondered why she didn't sit with anyone else. Phillip was sitting with one of his friends, and they were playing the Game Boys, mashing the buttons furiously in some sort of battle.

When he turned back to Sabina, Alex found that she was asleep. He took the opportunity to look at her – it was far too awkward when she was awake. She looked so… peaceful. She was smiling gently, looking content. She was as beautiful as always, and possibly even more now that Alex could gaze at her without embarrassment. For a few minutes, he simply looked at her.

Then, her facial expression changed. She frowned, and lines started to appear on her forehead. She looked troubled, and then her face changed to one of fear.

'No,' she whispered. Alex was about to wake her up from what obviously was a nightmare, but then she started thrashing around in her seat.

'No,' she moaned, 'No, please!'

Alex could guess what she was dreaming about. Damian Cray, Yassen Gregorovich… Alex never knew what they did to her during that time in which she was kidnapped. And it was all his fault.

'Sabina,' he said, shaking her gently. 'Sabina, it's alright.'

She seemed to hear him, and slowly her eyes opened.

Luckily, the bus was so loud and everyone so engrossed in their own activities that no one heard Sabina.

'Alex?' she asked softly.

'Sabina, are you alright?' he asked.

She paused for a moment, and then answered.

'Yes, Alex, I'm fine,' she lied, and Alex knew she was lying. For the rest of the journey, neither of them said a word.


	3. Fight

When they finally arrived at the bush, Alex was in a very different mood to the rest of his team mates. James and Tom were bursting with excitement, as Alex suspected they would be. Erin and Caitlin were stretching and getting ready. They were obviously anticipating the trip also. Even Phillip seemed excited, putting away his Game Boy and looking out across the landscape. Lucy was looking over the maps, and over her notes on their strategy, and Holly was helping her. Mark was looking smug, and wasn't in such a bad mood now.

May was the only one that seemed to share Alex's silence; his want not to talk.

Sabina had already joined her own group – since she was a year older than Alex, she would be doing a different course – so he wouldn't see her at all. She smiled briefly at him before leaving. Alex wondered what was going through her mind at that point. Being the only other one who'd been involved in a life or death situation – or so he assumed, he suspected that she did not find this trip all too exciting either.

The teachers led them to the starting point, and without further ado, let them loose.

It was chaos; utter madness without any sort of order at all. Everyone was pumped up, and wanting to win. No one quite ran, but everyone was jogging, trying to get ahead of the other teams. Alex knew, though, that jogging wasn't a good idea. It would be better to take this slowly and steadily instead of getting tired and only getting a few minutes head start. The path was too small for the 150 students that were taking this track, and so much madness ensued. People were pushed off the track and into the bushes, teams broke up and Alex even thought he saw someone punch someone else in the face. It was, really, chaos.

Alex's team stuck together at Lucy's command, and they found themselves at the end of the group.

'We're falling behind,' said Tom, frowning.

'They're wasting their energy. We need to take this slowly and steadily. And plus, we can't lose our place on the map, or we're really stuffed,' said Lucy. Alex nodded, agreeing with her silently.

In the fork at the road ahead, Alex could see that most people took the left path. The right path only one group took, and understandably so – it looked menacing and dangerous.

'Which way?' Erin asked Lucy. Lucy checked her maps, and paused.

'Well…' she said. 'The left way looks good on the outside, but it is really winding and though the terrain is flat and there's a marked path, it will take us longer than the right side. The right side, though, is thick bushlands which we may get lost in, but there's a river running through the bushlands that has fresh water that we can drink. I also suspect that there are more edible berries in the bush than on a dirt track.'

'So… the right side?' asked Tom.

'There must be a reason why everyone else went left,' said Mark irritably. 'We should go left. There's something wrong with the right path. That's why everyone went left.'

'So if you were in a group of people, and all the rest jumped off a cliff, would you follow them?' asked James, sniggering. Mark scowled.

'No, I'm saying that we should go left. I _am_ the leader, after all.'

'Who gave you that title, eh? We're all equal here,' said James, a dangerous look in his eye.

'You only want to go left because your friends went left,' said Tom.

'Let's vote,' suggested Erin. The rest of the team nodded.

'Who wants to go left?' asked Tom. Only Mark put his hand up.

'Well… looks like we're going right!' said James, smiling smugly. Mark muttered under his breath and reluctantly followed the group.

x.x.x

The man followed Alex and the rest of his group as they made their way through the bushlands. In the thick forest, it was easy to remain unseen. The group was moving on along at a painfully slow pace – the man remembered when he had to make it through a forest, and commented to himself that he was at least ten times quicker, if not more.

These kids weren't trained assassins, though.

He wondered how long it would take for them to notice him – forever, he supposed, unless he showed himself.

With that thought in his mind, he crept through the bushes and continued to follow the kids.

x.x.x

'You are an idiot,' Mark stated simply to Lucy. Usually, Mark was nice to girls. However, over the past hour, Lucy had really gotten on his nerves. She was disagreeing with him all the time, seemingly on purpose, though the real reason was that Mark's suggestions were so mind-numbingly stupid she always had to pick the other option.

'Without her, you'd be lost,' countered Holly, giving Mark a death glare.

'Look, your idea is stupid. If you want to think I'm an idiot just because I disagree with you, go ahead. You'll only make yourself look stupider than you already do,' said Lucy.

'Oh, snap!' said James, grinning. Lucy was too irritated to grin back.

Mark scowled.

'Look. We need to try and co-operate,' said Erin. 'We'll never get anywhere if we keep on arguing.'

'We'd be getting somewhere if we'd taken the left path,' complained Mark.

'Oh, shut up,' snapped Lucy. 'You don't know that.' The reason that Lucy was so irritated was because she herself wasn't even sure whether they should have taken the right path, and it was her fault.

Alex had to listen to them arguing for the past few hours, and it was really getting on his nerves. He wanted to tell them all to just SHUT UP, but he knew he couldn't, and he knew it was unfair to take his frustration about MI6 out on them.

'Why don't we just take a rest for a moment?' asked Phillip, who was out of breath. Caitlin glared at him.

'This is hard enough without us wasting time,' she snapped.

It seemed everyone was in a bad mood. Mark was annoyed because Lucy disagreed with him, and she always got her way. Lucy was annoyed because she thought she had made a mistake. Phillip was annoyed because he was _really_ tired and wanted to play his Game Boy. Erin didn't seem annoyed, but she was because everyone was arguing, and they were getting nowhere. Caitlin was annoyed because Mark was so full of himself and he started all the arguments. James was annoyed because they were lost, and Tom was annoyed because everyone else was annoyed. And Alex… he was annoyed because of MI6.

'We wouldn't be wasting time if we'd gone my way at that last fork,' muttered Mark.

'MARK, WILL YOU SHUT UP?' screamed Caitlin loudly. Everyone was shocked by her outburst. She didn't seem that annoyed, but she'd been keeping it in for too long. 'YOU'RE NOT KING OF THE UNIVERSE! YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING! IN FACT, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! SO JUST _SHUT UP_!' she shouted.

She took a deep breath in and out, and glared at Mark. He didn't respond, but his face started to grow red. For a few seconds he simply stood still, and suddenly, he formed a fist and punched Caitlin in the face.

She wasn't ready for the punch and it hit her square on the cheek. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. Erin was the first to help her, shooting dirty looks at Mark.

'What the hell was that for, man?' asked James. He didn't like Mark, but didn't think he was so bad to punch a _girl_ in the face.

Caitlin, however, wasn't going to take this lying down. She pushed Erin off herself, and stood up to Mark. She didn't say anything – she just gave him a look of pure anger, and punched Mark back.

Of all the things Mark had expected, he hadn't expected Caitlin to punch him.

'You…' he said in a low, dangerous voice.

Within a few seconds, the two were fighting all out.

'Stop it!' shouted Tom, attempting to break the two apart.

'Cut it out!' said James, helping Tom to try and break them apart, but failing.

Alex sighed, and stepped forward to stop the fighting, but then May spoke.

'Stop it!' she shouted loudly. Caitlin and Mark were so surprised to see May raise her voice that they stopped fighting. 'Both of you! It's just disgraceful. We're on the same team. There's absolutely no point in fighting. Mark, you should know better. You can't always have your way. Caitlin, you can't just explode like that without any warning. We've wasted enough time, now let's move on.'

With that speech, the rest of the team was silent.

May's outburst was unexpected; no one expected such a quiet girl to be so loud. Caitlin and Mark stopped fighting, and everyone else gaped. They were gobsmacked.

'Now can we move on?' asked May, as if nothing had happened.

No one wanted to point out to May that she was acting totally out of her normal persona, or anything, as if scared that her personality would change again if they opened their mouths. So they stayed silent and kept walking, each one wondering whether May was what she appeared to be.


	4. Willpower

Hello guys!

I've just been on 2 camps in the past 2 weeks, but none as bad as the one that Alex is on!

Does anyone else spot the little seeds of romance blooming?

Hope you enjoy!

-Lauren

x.x.x

The walk grew much quieter after that, only Lucy being the one talking, telling them in which direction they should go. Alex enjoyed the silence – it gave him time to think.

He should have known it wouldn't last long.

'I'm tired,' whined Phillip.

'Weakling,' teased Mark.

'Shut up,' said Caitlin. 'I can see you panting for breath as well.'

'I am not!' argued Mark indignantly. Caitlin just smiled smugly and continued walking. 'I'm not tired at all!'

'Bull,' said Caitlin. Erin looked like she wanted to laugh; but she knew better than to laugh at Mark. Mark's face grew red, and, without warning, he charged at Caitlin. Alex shook his head, this would have to stop.

'Mark!' he shouted, but Mark had already tackled Caitlin and they were wrestling on the ground. If everyone had not been so irritated, one might have found it funny that Caitlin was actually gaining the upper hand.

'Guys!' said Lucy irritably. It was hard enough trying to navigate without Caitlin and Mark always at each others' throats.

And then they rolled over to the left and fell down the steep slope. It was covered in mud, which was so slippery that neither of them could get a hold on anything, and it wouldn't have done any good even if they could, because the slope was so steep they would probably fall down again anyway. They kept on sliding down, away from where the rest of the group were, and another 10 metres below. When they reached the bottom, they landed with a thud.

Caitlin glared at Mark, and launched into a volley of swear words, which he returned in full.

'GUYS!' shouted James, but Caitlin and Mark didn't hear him. They were too busy insulting each other.

'GUYS!' shouted Lucy, but they didn't hear her either.

'CAITLIN! MARK!' shouted May, and somehow, they heard her. The others didn't think that May's "other personality" would come out again, and they were shocked to hear her raise her voice again. She looked furiously angry, something they'd never seen before, and it was rather scary.

'ARE YOU OK?' asked Lucy, bending over the cliff to see them.

'Be careful,' said James, who was squatting next to her, grabbing her shoulder. Lucy turned to him, slightly confused, and gave him a smile.

Down at the bottom, Caitlin looked around.

'WE'RE FINE!' Caitlin shouted back.

'CAN YOU GET BACK UP?' Lucy asked.

'NO!' Caitlin shouted back. 'IT'S TOO STEEP!'

Tom swore; and Alex slapped his head in frustration. Mark and Caitlin were becoming too much. He was so arrogant, and she shouldn't always have kept on arguing with him. Two strong personalities put together never end well.

'What do we do?' James asked Lucy. Lucy shook her head.

'I dunno,' she replied, pulling out her map. 'The area they're in will take even longer, but if we split up… that may be even worse.'

Holly looked doubtfully at the area below – it was wet, muddy and there were sharp looking bushes down there. Erin sighed; Caitlin was always a magnet for trouble. Phillip had his arms crossed and looked even glummer than before.

'Let's vote, then?' asked James. 'Who wants to go down there?'

'Wait,' said Alex. 'I've got some rope. Who else has got rope?'

'I've got rope,' said James, who took off his pack and started looking for his rope.

'I've got some too,' said Tom. Alex took out his length of rope and dangled it down. Unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere near long enough; he cursed himself for not bringing more.

He tied the three lengths of rope together expertly, ignoring the stares that the others were giving him. He dangled the rope down, and it reached down to the bottom. Mark grabbed the rope, and Caitlin gave Alex a thumbs up.

'OK, NOW TIE IT AROUND YOUR WAIST!' ordered Alex.

'WHO'S?' asked Caitlin.

'I'm going first,' Mark stated.

'_You're_ the reason we're down here, so I'm going first!' shouted Caitlin.

'GUYS, THERE'S NO TIME FOR ARGUING!' shouted Alex, annoyed. It seemed like every single second they could, they would disagree.

Caitlin and Mark sensed Alex and the rest's annoyance, so they shut up. It was a rare moment.

'CAITLIN, YOU'RE FIRST!' Alex shouted. Mark scowled, and Caitlin smirked. 'TIE IT AROUND YOUR WAIST.' Caitlin followed Alex's orders and gave him another thumbs up. Alex turned to the others.

'Alex, it's starting to drizzle,' said Lucy, looking to the sky. Alex swore. The rain would make everything worse. The mud would probably slide down, and make the rescue effort even more difficult. As if they didn't have enough to worry about to begin with – now time was against them.

'WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THIS QUICKLY!' Alex shouted to Caitlin and Mark. They nodded. 'MARK, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COME UP WITH CAITLIN! HOLD ON TO HER!'

If Alex was shouting loudly, Mark's response was at least ten times louder.

'WHAT?!' he asked incredulously.

'YOU HEARD WHAT HE SAID!' shouted Tom, looking as if he was about to burst out in laughter.

'HOLD ON TO CAITLIN, DAMNIT!' shouted Alex, getting irritated. It was starting to rain heavily and there was no time to spare arguing. 'JUST DO IT!'

Caitlin was as unhappy about Mark about the whole thing, but they knew what they had to do. Reluctantly, Mark wrapped his arms around her waist and held on tightly. Caitlin scowled.

'On my signal, we'll pull,' said Alex, turning back to the others. They nodded, and held on to the rope, looking as if they were about to start a massive game of tug-of-war.

'1, 2, PULL!' shouted Alex. Simultaneously they pulled on the rope, digging their heels into the ground and stepping back. The first pull was more difficult than they anticipated – gravity was against them. They didn't even manage to get the two off the ground.

Mark swore and held on to Caitlin tighter. She hated the physical contact, as did he, and it was an incredibly uncomfortable position for both of them.

'1, 2, PULL!' shouted Alex. He knew that the quicker they pulled, the easier this would all be. If they rested between pulls, they would use too much extra energy. The group pulled and managed to get Mark and Caitlin airborne.

'1, 2, PULL! 1, 2 PULL!' Alex got into a rhythm, and it seemed like they were doing well. Each pull lifted the two a little higher, and little by little, they were on their way to success.

After around 5 minutes of pulling, however, they were only halfway up. By this time everyone was huffing and puffing; tired from the strain. Alex knew that they had to keep going, however, and so didn't stop his chant of '1, 2, PULL!'

In the next few minutes, they situation got worse. Everyone was losing their strength and each pull was doing less and less. The rain was getting heavier; all of them were absolutely soaked, and the mud was starting to flow, making their job even harder.

'COME ON GUYS!' shouted Alex, hoping it would boost their morale. '1, 2, PULL!'

They kept on pulling against their body's protests, and Mark and Caitlin were around 3/4 of the way up. Then that was when the trouble started.

Lucy was probably the least fit of them all, and Alex knew she was getting dangerously tired. As she stepped back in the next pull, she tripped and fell over. James turned around to see what had happened to her, and he forgot to pull. Phillip took Lucy's falling over as an excuse for him to do the same.

Alex didn't have time to tell them to get back up, and so they lost Lucy and Phillip's efforts, which, though small, were vitally important to the group.

Even Tom, James and Erin were starting to tire; Alex heard their heavy breathing behind him. Alex wasn't tired – but that was what was to be expected of an MI6 agent.

And then, as if their situation couldn't get worse, the rope started to snap. Alex saw one of the threads that made up the rope snap, and with it a fraction of the rope's strength. They would have to work harder than ever. The rest heard the snap too, and were extremely dispirited.

'COME ON!' said Alex, but Tom shook his head.

'You can't do it, man,' said Tom.

Another one of the threads snapped. Mark and Caitlin were only metres away, but it seemed like a long distance for them still to pull. Tom, James and Erin pulled one more time, and then gave up hope. Alex could feel the weight grow heavier as he lost all his support. He, too, wanted to let go, but he wasn't a quitter.

And the other thing that stopped him – there was still someone with him.

May, to Alex's surprise was still pulling with Alex. He could hear her breathing deeply behind him. He felt an intense respect for her – the only one who had stuck with him and was prepared to see this out until the end, or failure.

With this new hope, Alex pulled harder than ever.

The last few pulls were the hardest, as the threads continued to snap like in some comical cartoon.

They prevailed.

Mark and Caitlin were pulled up onto the ground, away from the slope, and Alex and May collapsed to the ground. Even Alex was tired – he wondered how on earth a girl could endure that level of physical exercise. Even Erin, the marathon runner, gave up. Perhaps it was in May's willpower, or maybe she wasn't pulling before. Alex didn't give it too much thought, though – he was far too tired to think about these things.

Everyone was still, either sitting down or lying down on the ground.

'Mark?' said Caitlin, turning around to look at him.

In an awkward moment, Mark realised he was still holding on to Caitlin. He disentangled himself and avoided her gaze. He was so stupid! What on earth was he still holding on to her for?

Caitlin and Mark stood up, and turned to face the others.

'Sorry,' said Caitlin sheepishly.

The others shook their head, but were too tired to reply.

Alex turned to his left, and saw May lying only a few inches away from him. Their noses were almost touching. They made eye contact, and they smiled at each other. In that moment in the pouring rain, Alex found out a little more about the mysterious girl that was May.


	5. Sun in a Gun

Guys, I am so sorry I haven't been updating.

I've started an original fic and I've been working on that a lot, plus school has been really hectic and I'm helping one of my friends co-author another original fic.

But here's the next chapter of Camp!

I'm so sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long.

My apologies,

-Lauren

x.x.x

'Let's set up camp,' Lucy suggested, after a few minutes of silence. It was raining cats and dogs, and if they stayed out for much longer, they would all catch a cold, which was the last thing that they needed.

James nodded.

'We'll set up camp if you want,' offered Caitlin. Both her and Mark were feeling incredibly sorry about the whole incident as it was all their fault. If anything good had come out of the fall, it was that Mark and Caitlin finally stopped arguing and Mark's ego had deflated.

'That'll be good,' said Tom tiredly. They were all sheltering under a tree, but the rain was still reaching them through the gaps and they were still getting wet. Lucy sneezed; it was getting cold.

James offered her his jacket, and she was too tired to refuse.

Chivalry was contagious, it seemed, as Tom and Phillip offered up their jackets as well.

Alex, however, was too tired to do anything. Even though he was tired, he felt a sense of achievement. The hard work had paid off, and it was that same feeling that he got from completing a mission. He smiled. Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.

x.x.x

Caitlin and Mark started to set up the tents, and surprisingly, not a single insult was heard.

'That doesn't go there, it goes here,' Mark told Caitlin. She raised an eyebrow, but after a few seconds of analysis, she realised he was right.

'You're not as stupid as you look, then,' she said, but jokingly. Mark laughed lightly, and Caitlin was surprised. What happened to Mark's massive ego, the Mark that thought he was the best in everything? It was rather unnerving to see the change, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

Within 10 minutes, they had successfully set up the tents. They took a step back to look at their handiwork – the tents were well set up, if they did think so themselves.

'Guys, we're done,' Caitlin informed the rest of the group. They would have said thank you, but they were too tired, and so just smiled and crawled into their respective tents. Lucy was with Holly, Erin with Caitlin, Alex with James and Tom, Phillip with Mark and somehow May got left in a tent all by herself.

'Are you sure you don't want to come in with us?' Caitlin asked, sticking her head out of the tent. May stuck her head out and shook it.

'I'm fine, don't worry about me,' she replied, smiling slightly.

'Righty-o then,' said Caitlin, disappearing back into her own tent and zipping it up.

It was only 6 o'clock, but everyone felt like they could go to sleep at any moment. There was no chance of starting a fire to cook dinner, so they ate chocolate bars and other junk food that they'd brought with them. Alex would have given anything just for a mug of hot Milo at that point, but there was no hot water.

Zipping up the tent, Alex lay down in his sleeping bag and turned over. James and Tom were chatting excitedly, the afternoon's event practically forgotten. They still retained the excitement that they had from the beginning; that Alex seemed to miss out on originally. This afternoon, however, had given Alex some happiness, finally, after months and months of being bored and lifeless at school.

Alex slipped in and out of consciousness for a few minutes, catching snippets of James and Tom's conversation, before falling asleep, snoring as loudly as an aeroplane.

x.x.x

The morning dawned with the sun shining brightly and the rain clouds gone. Alex was woken by the shrill call of a bird, but James and Tom remained asleep. Slowly Alex unzipped the tent, trying not to make any noise, but James and Tom wouldn't be woken even if a bomb exploded, the way they were sleeping. James was mumbling something in his sleep, and Tom had his head stuffed inside the pillow.

It was a glorious day outside – the sun was shining, birds were chirping and the flowers were blooming. Alex stretched and yawned loudly, but no one seemed to hear him. The others were all still asleep, so Alex decided to go for a morning run.

The cool morning air hit his face like a splash of cold water – pleasant and invigorating. The world was rushing past him, and he could feel reality slowly slipping away. Running was one of the few things Alex had found pleasure in since his break from MI6 – running without someone chasing you.

Little did Alex know there was someone chasing him.

He kept running, the adrenaline of exercise taking over and giving him a rush of energy. Alex wondered for a moment if he would get lost, but he was sure he'd find his way back – he was a spy, after all.

He didn't know how long he ran for – if he hadn't gotten tired, he never would have stopped. Yesterday's adventure had taken its toll on his muscles and he didn't want to overtire them, so he walked slowly back to camp, hoping the others weren't up yet.

It was a good time for Alex to enjoy the simple nature of the area – the towering trees, the flowers, the green grass, and just the feeling of getting away from the crowded city, away from civilisation and back into nature's arms. It was enjoyable, definitely.

Until he spotted a flicker of movement among the trees. The smallest flicker, but Alex still saw it. He tried to convince himself that it was nothing, but his instincts told him otherwise. He scanned the area, but saw nothing else.

It had been one flicker, but it would make Alex uneasy until he figured out exactly what it was.

x.x.x

When he returned, everyone was still asleep. If it had been Tom up first, he would have played pranks on everyone, but Alex didn't think it was a very mature thing to do, however funny it may be.

Alex crawled back into the tent, to find nothing had changed in Tom and James' sleeping patterns. He tried reading a book that he had brought to camp – Eragon, but he didn't find it interesting in the least, and his mind kept on slipping back to the flicker of movement he had seen.

Had it been something bad? His instincts told him so. But it had just been a flicker of movement – Alex hadn't even seen what it had been! It could have just been a squirrel or something. The only thing that was making him uneasy was his instincts. He knew it was stupid, but his instincts had served him well in the past.

x.x.x

Yassen knew there was someone else around. He could sense it. Immediately his training kicked into action as he scanned the area for any signs of life. There was something moving in the bushes – he pointed his gun at the shrubbery.

'Come out, and put your hands up,' he said, in a low, dangerous voice. No one came out.

'I said, come out, or I'll shoot.'

No one came out.

Yassen didn't want to shoot – it'd alarm the whole area, and then he'd have to run, but he couldn't let the person think that he was bluffing. Instead of shooting, he pulled out his throwing knife from his belt and threw it adeptly into the bushes.

The flash of silver sped into the bushes, but there was no cry of pain or any sign of movement. Yassen approached the bush carefully, wary that it could be a trap. After a quick test, he decided that it was nothing dangerous, and reluctantly pulled aside a few branches.

There was nothing there.

Whoever – whatever it had been, Yassen knew it wasn't good. He was dealing with a trained adversary, and Yassen could guess exactly who he or she was after.

x.x.x

About an hour later, James and Tom woke up. Much yawning and stretching and groaning ensued, and it was only about 5 minutes later that they noticed that Alex was awake.

'Hey, you're up early,' said Tom. 'How long have you been up?'

'Oh, not long. Around 10 minutes,' lied Alex. He didn't know why he lied – he just supposed lying was easier than saying he woke up so early and went for a walk and then he'd have to explain what he saw.

'Are the others up yet?' asked James. Alex shrugged. A burst of giggling confirmed that the others were up.

James and Tom stumbled out of the tent, stretched, and yawned. Alex looked hard into the bushes, hoping that he could see something, but no matter how hard he stared, there was nothing. Perhaps he was just going mad. He dismissed the thought and crawled outside.

'What's the plan today, navigator?' James asked Lucy.

'We'll head along the path north, and try and get as far as we can. The area's messy because of the weather yesterday, so we'll have to watch our step.'

The others nodded.

'Fun,' said Mark, and Alex furrowed his brows as he saw Caitlin playfully elbow Mark in the stomach.

Things were very odd indeed.

x.x.x

'I'm tired,' complained Phillip.

'Again?' asked Mark.

'Don't start, you two,' said Erin, sighing.

Things had gone back to normal. Caitlin and Mark were arguing, Phillip was constantly tired, and Lucy was getting irritated because it looked like they were going nowhere. So much for yesterday's "adventure" changing things.

Alex, though, had much bigger things to worry about than his group bickering amongst themselves.

He was driving himself mad with anxiety. Every time he saw a leaf flutter, he would jerk his head in that direction and stare until he was sure it was nothing. He was adamant that what he had seen _had_ been something out of the ordinary, and his senses longed for something extraordinary. He began creating situations with his imagination – was it a Scorpia agent coming to get him? Was it the head of a drug ring smuggling supplies in the bush?

Alex was disgusted when he found his imagination running wild, and even more disgusted that he was delighted with the thought that it was something exciting. Yesterday's incident had worn off and once again his whole being itched for something exciting, something like what he used to do.

He shook his head and told himself it was nothing under his breath, but stopped when he saw May looking at him curiously.

x.x.x

'Are you ok, Lucy?' asked James.

'I don't know,' she snapped. 'I'm concentrating.'

Tom mouthed 'ouch' and gave James a look of sympathy.

Everyone was on edge again.

Phillip opened his mouth to whine, but no sound came out – instead he tripped over a tree root and landed with a thud on the floor.

'Ouch!' said Phillip, rubbing his foot.

'Are you ok?' asked Tom.

'Ouch!' said Phillip.

'Oh, it's just a small cut,' said Mark. 'Stop being such a drama queen.'

'Hey! I cut myself on a rock!' complained Phillip.

'Guys, stop it!' shouted Caitlin.

Alex Rider didn't notice any of this, however. He'd just spotted something that made him extremely uneasy. In the bushes, there was rustling, and as he turned to look, he saw something that made his skin crawl.

A flash of blond hair. Icy blue eyes. Muscles too large for any schoolkid. And most unsettling… the reflection of the sun in a gun.


	6. Why the Hell Are You Here?

Hello readers!

Well here's an action packed (I hope!) new chapter, and I hope you guys like it.

Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are awesome!

Enjoy!

-Lauren

x.x.x

'Guys, shut up!' hissed Alex. 'Get down!' Alex threw himself upon the floor, expecting to hear gunfire, but none came. Only Tom followed his orders – the others just looked at him as if he was crazy.

'Get down!' he hissed, with such urgency that the others believed him and got onto the floor.

'What is it?' whispered James.

'Shh,' ordered Alex.

Alex knew what the right thing to do was. The right thing to do would be to ring the teachers – and the police, and tell them what he had just seen. The right thing to do would have been to just stay on the ground. The right thing to do was _not_ to go and investigate, but that was exactly what Alex intended to do.

'Stay here,' he ordered, 'and DON'T MOVE!' He looked at Tom, conveying how urgent the order was. Tom nodded; he knew about Alex and his spy life.

Alex stood up silently, and ran off in the direction in which he had seen the man.

x.x.x

'What on earth is Alex doing?' whispered Caitlin angrily, to Tom. She thought that Alex was just being an idiot, or that it was a prank – Tom was notorious for pranks and Caitlin thought that his best friend would be too.

'Everyone, be quiet! Seriously,' hissed Tom urgently. Tom, being the only one who knew about Alex's spy life, was the only one who sensed how serious the situation was.

'Why?' asked Mark mockingly, 'Is Alex actually being serious?' he jeered. Mark had never had much respect for Alex.

'Shut up,' hissed James, sensing the seriousness of the situation by the look in Tom's eyes. Tom was hardly ever scared – he could even outdo Alex in horror movies, but James could see that Tom was scared now.

Even Mark at this point sensed that something was wrong, so he shut up.

They waited for a few minutes, but then Lucy broke the silence.

'Guys… where's May?'

x.x.x

May was running after Alex as quickly as she could. She knew about everything; she knew about how much danger Alex would be in if he continued. Unfortunately for her, Alex was also a fast runner, and she couldn't gain any ground on him.

Questions were running through her head like wildfire, but the two most important had the strongest voices.

How did Alex know? And why on earth was _he_ here?

x.x.x

Alex could only follow the rustling of dead leaves on the ground – and he had to sprint as fast as he could to even keep up. The person he was chasing was obviously a great deal faster and fitter than him. He doubted he would ever catch up, unless the man stopped and Alex knew he would stop far before the man did.

Furthermore, Alex knew that by chasing the man he was in great danger of being shot, or falling into a trap. He knew that while he was so focused on following the man that he was vulnerable to outside attack. He knew that what he was doing was extremely dangerous and stupid.

But he also knew that the man was no ordinary person.

x.x.x

Yassen smiled and shook his head while he was running. He knew Alex would follow him, no matter how stupid it was. And that was the thing about Alex Rider. His curiosity took priority over all else, and Yassen suspected Alex was especially interested because of his long break from MI6. The intelligence agency had finally come to its senses and realised that when the hopes of a nation were on one teenage boy's shoulders, there was something disastrously wrong. Instead of keeping that teenage boy until they fixed the problem, or just using him anyway, they decided to try and cover it up by cutting all ties to Alex and pretending that he never existed. They thought he might be glad to be rid of all the danger, seeing how reluctant Alex was to take on each new mission, but they didn't see that Alex would never be content with a normal life now. MI6 really had ruined Alex's life.

Yassen was purposely showing himself to Alex Rider – to warn him of the mysterious things going on in the area. Of course, most of them were Yassen himself – he had purposely made himself shown early that morning to put Alex on his guard, just in case the adversary decided to make his move on Alex before Yassen could stop him. But Yassen knew there was an enemy, and that Alex was in considerable danger.

Yassen reached the clearing he was running towards, stopped and hid behind a large tree. Of course to a normal spy the hiding place would have been ridiculously obvious, but Alex was flustered and excited and, despite his many talents, still a teenage boy.

x.x.x

Alex heard the footsteps stop and his heart fell.

Here was the trap.

He was wary, looking around and scanning the area, but he didn't see anything. His spine was tingling and all the danger sensors in his head were going off. Yet there was something, apart from the immediate danger he was in, that didn't quite fit. The notion nagged at Alex, and he had to do his best to ignore it.

Alex dared not move, just in case it might trigger something. He was frozen to the spot. As his eyes didn't give him any information, he closed them and listened with his ears as hard as he could. For a few seconds, he heard nothing, but then he heard someone else's breathing – someone had been chasing him! His eyes snapped open immediately but before Alex could run a strong arm wrapped around his neck and he was caught in a headlock.

Alex tried to kick against his captor, and maybe knock his knees backward and make him fall over, but the person was much stronger than he was. Alex couldn't reach the man's arm with his mouth to bite it, or do anything at all, really. He was stuck, and the man knew it.

'Alex,' said the man softly. How did he know his name? There was something vaguely familiar about the voice that raised the hairs on the back of Alex's neck.

'Who are you?' asked Alex. He didn't expect the man to give him his name, but asked all the same.

'I'm a friend, don't worry,' said the man. That voice was so familiar! It reminded Alex of the old days, but he couldn't pin it down. Was the man serious, or joking when he said that he was a friend?

'How do you know me?' asked Alex. 'How do you know my name?'

'I've known you for a long time, Alex Rider,' said the man.

Alex went through his adventures chronologically. Someone from the K-Unit? No, it wasn't one of their voices. Mr Grin, Nadia Vole and Herod Sayle were dead… or so Alex hoped.

Alex's thoughts were interrupted by the breathing getting closer, and a flustered, tired May running into the clearing.

'May!' shouted Alex. 'Run!' The last thing he needed now was to be looking after an extra person when he himself could be killed any minute now.

May gasped when she was what was happening. She couldn't run and just leave Alex, but what was she meant to do? She thought she had been dreaming, but now it was real.

'Yassen Gregorovich,' said May.

And all Alex's memories came flooding back and even though Yassen was dead, he knew that it was Yassen holding him now.

'Why the _hell_ are you here?'

x.x.x


	7. Just Do It

Hi guys!

Well, here's the new chapter!

Thank you all so much for reviewing. This chapter explains a lot about who May really is.

Hope you guys enjoy!

-Lauren

x.x.x

No one answered Lucy's question.

They looked around, but May's face was missing from their circle.

It was only through Tom's insistent hissings that the rest of Alex's group stayed on the ground. Mark thought the joke was already over, and had stood up, only to be wrestled back to the ground by Tom and James, albeit with some difficulty.

The girls had more sense and emotional intelligence, and so shut up and sat tight. Without the competition to be the bravest that boys had, they were all shaking. Even Caitlin, though she wasn't shaking outwardly, was pretty scared, even if she tried not to show it.

'What is Alex up to?' whispered James to Tom. Tom just shook his head and zipped his mouth shut. He was probably the most frightened of the group – because he actually knew what this was about. About spies with guns, evil masterminds and things that threatened their lives.

Phillip didn't even reach for his Game Boy, he just sat still.

It was agonizing, sitting in silence when they were all scared and 2 of them were missing, and could be in _big_ trouble. The person it was probably worst for was Tom.

He was sitting there, knowing that both his and his best friend's life were in jeopardy.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and Tom immediately froze and James stopped whispering. Everything was still, and no one moved or said a word.

Out of the bushes came a figure dressed all in black, with a bulge at his right hip that only Tom knew was a gun.

'Well well, what have we here?' said the man, breaking into a smile that sent shivers down the teenagers' spines.

x.x.x

'Yassen!' shouted Alex. Yassen muffled the shout with his hand, placing it over Alex's mouth.

'Alex,' he said softly. 'There are enemies in the woods. Don't shout.' He let go of Alex and put a finger to his lip. Alex was so shocked that Yassen was alive that he couldn't do anything but follow his orders and keep quiet.

May was hardly less surprised than Alex, backing up against a tree, trying not to think about the fact that Yassen Gregorovich was alive. Yassen Gregorovich, the man who had haunted her dreams for years.

Her mum and dad had always been out of the house often. They went on business trips together, leaving May with a babysitter and not much to do. When she was younger, she didn't think about it too much.

But as she grew older, she became to wonder.

Mostly a self-taught child, she wasn't very close with her parents. Her babysitter was one of her parent's friend's daughters, was a university student who lived with her. May had been alone a large amount of her life. Lillian, her babysitter, or "roomie" as they called each other as they grew older, was at university a lot of the time. She saw her parents occasionally, but even the times that they were at home, they'd shut themselves up in their room and only come down to eat.

May didn't begrudge her parents for it – she knew that they were doing something important. Something adults do, something that she didn't know. She got all the love she needed from Lillian, and instead pitied her parents – she'd seen the tears in her mother's eyes when as a child she'd called Lillian "mum", and only now realised how much her mum had given up.

For the first 12 years of her life, she'd lived like this. She didn't stand out at school and preferred not to draw attention to herself, and preferred to be alone or with Lillian. Life was relatively normal for her, and things were going well.

But then Yassen Gregorovich stepped into her life.

_On the day that changed everything, he kicked down the door and barged in completely uninvited to her house. Saying nothing, he knocked out Lillian, and grabbed May, screaming and kicking, and pushed her into his car. By that time she was bound and gagged, and had no say in her fate. _

_Roughly another man dragged her out of the car and into a compound. She kicked and screamed, but it had no effect. Yassen Gregorovich, with the face that haunted her, just watched with no trace of emotion on his face._

_The possibilities were running through her mind – May had always been analytical. It was a kidnapping, because if they wanted to kill her they would have done so far earlier. But why her? There was nothing interesting about her. Except…_

_When she was younger, she thought that her parents were superheroes in disguise, and that was why they were always out. As she grew older, she thought up a more sophisticated explanation – they were spies. But she'd disregarded the notion and thought it stupid – her parents, spies? Never. That was, until now._

_But there was nothing she could do. So she watched Yassen's face, unmoving, expressionless and yet avoiding her eyes._

_She was hauled into the compound, to see the faces of the people she'd hope she wouldn't see but knew she would. Her parents. Her mother was pleading with her eyes, looking at the men like they were the only thing that could save her. Her father stood still, watching her but though his face was still his eyes were full of desperation._

'_Let her go,' he said. 'She has nothing to do with this.'_

'_On the contrary,' said the man that May didn't know the name of. 'She has everything to do with this. You are both her parents. She means something to you. Now tell us. Tell us everything, or we'll hurt her. Yassen Gregorovich here is perfectly capable, I assure you.'_

_May half knew what was going on. Even if she pretended she had no idea, she knew what was going on. Her parents had something the man wanted. Her parents wouldn't tell him, not even for fear of their own lives. For her, well, that was a different matter altogether._

'_Yassen…' whispered her mother. The man called Yassen took hold of May and held a knife to her neck. She could feel the dangerously cold metal slicing through her neck already. What was to stop them killing her after her parents had told?_

'_She's just a child!' said her father, raising his voice. _

'_Collateral damage,' said the man, nodding at Yassen._

'_No!' screamed her mother, fighting against the men that were holding her back. 'Don't, please. We'll tell you.'_

'_Irene…' said her father softly. May was crying and bawling but no one seemed to care except her parents._

'_She's our daughter, Stuart. Our only child. What has MI6 ever done for us? She's our _child_, Stuart.'_

_Her father paused, looked at her and sighed._

'_How do we know you won't kill her afterwards?' asked her father, turning back to the man in charge. He simply grinned._

'_You'll have to take my word for it, Wilkinson.'_

_May's father was probably facing the toughest decision any man would ever have to make. The enemy was being purposely cruel. He didn't want to destroy the nation, but he couldn't let his daughter die without knowing he tried his best to save her._

'_Either you watch her die, or she watches you die. It's your choice,' said the man. And that was when May realised that her parents were actually going to die. They were going to die! Her parents, who she'd never spent that much time with, were going to die! She was never going to see them again! She started screaming and kicking and doing everything in her power to escape, and she almost did. If Yassen hadn't been the assassin he was, the pain in her cries would have softened his heart._

'_We'll tell you,' said her father, with an air of defeat and a broken expression. The man in charge just grinned, beckoned Yassen over and took her parents away. That was the last time she would see them. A few of the most agonizing minutes of her life later, she heard two gunshots, and she knew it was all over. She was crying her heart out, like she'd never felt pain before, and for that moment everything was wrong, everything. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. She couldn't do anything but cry. _

_Her parents never came out of that room, and May knew it was because of her. _

'_Yassen,' said the man. 'Kill the girl. Go, now.'_

_Yassen Gregorovich nodded, no sign of expression on his face, grabbed May and walked outside. _

_He took his gun out of its holster and closed his eyes. He loaded the bullet in, and May was slightly glad that the agony would end soon. She'd be with her parents soon. She'd be out of this world soon, and she wouldn't have to face the world anymore. Maybe she was a bit sad that it would all end, but she'd had enough of life at that moment and just wanted it all to be over._

_But when she opened her eyes, she wasn't in heaven, and the man who was meant to kill her was still standing in front of her with the gun pointed at her head. _

'_Do it,' she hissed at him, with all the anger she could muster. 'Do it.'_

'_Why?' he asked. 'Why are you so eager for me to kill you?' he asked, sounding amused, but also a little sad._

_May felt all the bitterness and anger inside her spill out. _

'_JUST DO IT!' she screamed at him, grabbing him by the collar, not caring that he was over twice her size. 'I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ANYMORE!' she screamed, punching his chest as hard as she could and crying. _

_Yassen just stood there, shocked to hear such terrible words coming out of a thirteen year old. He knew he shouldn't talk to his victims, but he couldn't resist._

'_Why not?' he asked her. _

'_Everything's gone,' she said, weeping into his chest even though he was the man who would probably kill her. 'It's all gone. My parents are gone, my life is gone; JUST KILL ME!' she screamed, crying harder. _

'_Don't you have anything to live for?' he whispered in her ear. _

'_There's nothing for me,' she sobbed. 'Nothing.'_

'_Friends?' _

'_JUST KILL ME, YOU COWARD!' she screamed, beating at his chest with her fists. _

'_Some people out there are fighting for their lives,' he told her softly. 'Your parents fought for yours. Would you throw that all away?' he asked._

'_SHUT UP!' she screamed at him, crying. 'You don't know anything! I can't live… anymore.' _

_Yassen looked at the broken girl in his arms and saw himself, when his parents had first died. He, too, didn't think he had anything to live for. But there had been no one there to pull the trigger for him._

_He held the gun to her neck, but couldn't pull the trigger._

'_Do it,' she cried. _

'_Yassen, hurry up!' called his boss from inside the compound. Yassen, sighing, took the gun away from her neck, shot one bullet into the air and tucked his gun back in its holster. _

'_Go down those stairs. Down the underground corridor until you reach the sewers, and then you'll find a manhole,' he whispered to May, who was still crying hysterically. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the stairs, and pushed her down until she was out of sight._

_Then he left, and returned to his employer, leaving May alone._

_She was still crying, but her brain went into autopilot; chanting Yassen's instructions in her head and following them mindlessly. She went down the corridor, reached the sewers and clambered around in the sewage until she found a manhole, which she climbed up. Everything was numb and empty for her. She wandered around the streets, thoughts of her parents occasionally flickering through the void of her mind, but like a black hole, her mind sucked them up. _

_Eventually she found herself back home, and Lillian had recovered, and attended to her immediately. But May, now, was like a blank canvas with all the life sucked out of her. _

_For about a month she didn't speak at all, and when she was finally asked about the incident, she wouldn't say a word. The entire incident had been extremely traumatic for her, and she would probably never be the same again. After about half a year she went back to school, but kept to herself and didn't talk to others. She built a wall inside her heart to prevent anyone from getting in, and preoccupied herself with sport and her schoolwork, anything to keep her mind off her parents and that terrible day._

_She never thought she'd see Yassen Gregorovich again._

'May Wilkinson,' said Yassen, nodding.

'WHY ARE YOU HERE?!' she screamed, starting to cry again. The last time she'd cried was that day – after that she had been too numb for crying.

'How do you know her?' asked Alex. Yassen relaxed his arm and Alex slipped out of his grip, immediately rushing to May's side.

'I never said I was sorry about your parents,' Yassen said to May, ignoring Alex.

'SHUT UP!' she screamed at him. All the emptiness had suddenly been filled with an inconsolable rage, and she charged at him, trying to hurt him in any way she could. 'SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!'

Alex thought he saw a flicker of sadness cross Yassen's face, but as it returned to its appearance of cold stone instantly, he decided he must have been mistaken.

'May, there's no time,' Yassen said softly. To Alex's extreme surprise, he saw that Yassen was rubbing May's back with his hand. Maybe he was just trying to calm her down.

'Alex,' said Yassen, turning to him.

'Why are you _alive_?' Alex asked, still hardly believing his eyes.

'It's a long story,' said Yassen, a ghost of a smile on his face. 'But now's not the time. There's an enemy somewhere in the area. And your friends are in danger,' said Yassen.

Alex froze.

An enemy? There were schoolchildren, all by themselves, in the area! If there was a criminal, they were all in great danger. Alex thought of Tom, and the others, and finally realised how much danger they were in.

Alex swore.

'That's right, Alex,' said Yassen. 'We need to get going.'


	8. Landmine

Hey guys! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but thank you for sticking with me anyway! Here's the new chapter, hope you guys had a good Christmas and New Year!

Enjoy!

-Lauren

x.x.x

Immediately all 8 of the campers went into panic. Lucy screamed and instinctively grabbed onto James.

'W-Who are you?' stuttered Tom, trying to act brave but failing dismally. The man could see that Tom was shaking uncontrollably, as were most of the others. Lucy was hanging onto James for dear life, Phillip was absolutely frozen, Holly was trying not to scream, Mark was so scared he looked like he was about to cry, and Erin and Caitlin were trying to slowly edge away.

'Ah, but you don't get to know that yet,' said the man, a grin creeping onto his face that didn't make any of the kids any happier. In a flash, he was behind Erin and Caitlin, and they were petrified. 'Where do you think you're going?' he said, kneeling down and whispering in their ears. It sent shivers down everyone's spine.

'W-What do you want?' asked Tom again. You'd have to give him credit for being able to speak up, especially seeing as he was the one who knew most about what was happening.

'Alex Rider,' the man said. 'Who can tell me where he is?'

No one answered.

'I said,' repeated the man patiently, 'who can tell me where he is?' This time he pulled out a gun, grabbed Caitlin by the collar and held it to her neck. Caitlin screamed and started to tremble.

'We don't know!' shouted Erin desperately, starting to cry. 'Please!'

Erin's pleas had no effect; the man just grinned evilly.

'H-H-He ran off!' stuttered Tom. 'We don't know where Alex is! Really!'

'Liars,' hissed the man. 'Tell me where he is.'

It was like something out of their worst nightmares. Any second, they knew he could pull the trigger and Caitlin could die – and there was nothing they could do about it. None of them were game enough even to think that if they knew where Alex was, that they'd have the integrity not to tell him.

'We don't know where he is, please!' pleaded James, who was sheltering a crying Lucy in his arms.

'Well then,' said the man in a gentle voice, grinning like the devil, 'I'll just have to stay here then.'

x.x.x

'Where was your campsite?' Yassen snapped at Alex. Luckily Alex had a pretty good sense of direction, and pointed Yassen towards the campsite. The three of them started running.

'What are we doing when we get there?' asked Alex. Usually he made his own decisions, but Yassen emanated such an air of leadership he didn't even feel competent to make any decisions now.

'We get close, assess the situation. We'll have to try and find out what the man wants. If they're in danger, we'll have to tread carefully. The man is either after me… or after you.'

Alex didn't know whether it would be worse as the former or the latter.

'May, are you ok?' Alex asked, remembering her as she caught up with him. Half-heartedly she nodded, not looking very ok at all.

They ran, until they were close to where the group had camped. Yassen told them to stay back silently, as he prowled ahead.

Alex could see the concentration in his face, and was deeply impressed. Yassen was totally silent – not even his footsteps could be heard. It dawned on Alex that he had only been able to see Yassen because Yassen had _wanted_ him to. Yassen stole through the bushes like a ghost – and Alex could see the difference between his brief training with the SAS and Yassen's extensive training with Scorpia. For a second, Alex wondered whether he would have been that good, had he stuck with Scorpia, before remembering that they'd tried to kill him.

x.x.x

Caitlin saw Yassen first. As far as appearances go, Yassen wasn't that great at making first impressions. Caitlin tried to scream, but her mouth was covered with duct tape, and so only muffles came out.

'I'm here to help,' said Yassen gently. Gently did not suit Yassen, and Caitlin only tried to scream harder.

Yassen was surprised, and annoyed. There were only two kids at camp. He still had to find the rest, and get them to safety. The two were tied up together, and muffled with duct tape. A little too James Bond and flashy, thought Yassen, I could have done it better. Why didn't he just kill them?

Then Yassen looked down, where Caitlin had kicked away some of the dirt, and froze instinctively.

Caitlin and Erin were sitting on a _landmine_.

Yassen's head went into analytical mode instantly. The two girls were in terrible danger. Sitting on a landmine was not the safest thing to be doing.

Firstly, why had the enemy put them in a landmine in the first place? To distract him, or to put fear into his mind?

'Keep watch, and stay away!' Yassen barked at Alex. Alex was too stunned to argue, and kept watch of the area.

The mine had to be activated by something. They could be triggered by pressure, movement, sound, magnetism or vibration. It couldn't be pressure, because the two girls were heavy enough to have activated the mine all by itself. Movement was also improbable, because the girls would have been kicking and struggling, and the mine hadn't exploded yet.

It could be sound, magnetism or vibration, Yassen decided.

He motioned quickly for them to be silent, putting a finger to his lip. Trembling, Caitlin and Erin obeyed.

Yassen was about to step on the mine, but he froze.

What an idiot he was! He'd almost gotten himself killed. Yassen was furious with himself for forgetting something so simple.

Obviously the mine could be recalibrated to register the two girls' weight as zero, therefore unable to set off the mine. If he stepped onto the mine, it would blow. Pressure mines were the most common, and pressure could always be recalibrated to account for how far down the mine was, and the pressure of the earth weighing down on the mine. The weight of two girls could easily be added to the calibration count.

Yassen couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten that.

So _that_ was their plan. To kill Yassen by tricking him… perhaps they thought that Yassen would not have even seen the landmine to begin with. And that explained why there were only two – if this failed, there would be more to come later. Yassen shuddered – he'd never approved of terror involving children. People should be exempt from his world of assassins and spies at least until they're 18

'Don't move,' he told the girls sternly. Yassen had to inspect the device, and he had to do it quickly. If the enemy saw him now, they could remotely set off the mine and blow all three of them up.

Lightly, carefully, Yassen brushed away some of the dirt on the side and had a look at the device. It was encased in a layer of plastic, and Yassen recognised the type of landmine this was. He'd trained using these in Malagosto. That would give him an advantage, he thought, good.

He pulled out a knife from his pocket, and cut into the sides of the plastic, trying to pry it open. He didn't put too much pressure on; this was a delicate operation. After much jiggling of the knife and loosening, the side popped open. Yassen could now see inside.

He saw the fuse. It hadn't been lit yet; that was a good sign. There was a remote activate device in there, so he quickened his pace, but not dangerously so. He could now see that it was a pressure activated mine. Yassen wasn't sure whether he could defuse the mine; it had an anti-tampering device, and any attempt could easily set off the mine. He didn't have enough time to get around the anti-tampering device…

But then he came up with an idea.

Because the mine had been recalibrated to take in the girls' weight, technically, according to the mine, there was no pressure on it. So the removal of the weight shouldn't set off the mine, because the girls' weight was taken into consideration in the calibration. The mine would only activate now if there was more pressure added, not pressure removed.

Yassen knew it was dangerous, but it was the best option and he had to take it. Careful not to step on the mine, he leaned over and cut the girls loose.

'Now, do exactly as I tell you,' said Yassen firmly. 'Stand up slowly, and don't shift any of your weight.'

The girls slowly and carefully stood up. The mine didn't blow up, to Yassen's relief.

'Now I want you to get ready. On 3, I want you to jump away from the mine. On 3, not after 3,' Yassen clarified. 'When you jump, throw yourself on the ground. Cross your arms in front of your face to protect yourself.'

'Is the mine going to blow up?' asked Caitlin worriedly.

'No,' said Yassen, with rather more decisiveness than he held. There was still a chance that the mine would blow up due to the loss of pressure, but he didn't tell them that. 'It's just a safety precaution. Don't hesitate. Are you ready?'

Caitlin and Erin nodded. Yassen stood a few metres back, just in case.

'1, 2, 3!'

They jumped, and did exactly what Yassen said. And to Yassen's relief, there was no explosion of any sort. He picked the girls up off the ground, and herded them over to where Alex and May were waiting.

'May,' said Yassen. 'I want you to take these two and get out of the compound. Run, get out of here, and call the police as soon as you're out. Don't tell them who I am,' warned Yassen.

May was silent.

'May, if you tell them who I am, the rest may not make it out alive,' said Yassen. 'I know you hate me, and I understand that. But you have to think of the others. I can save them. I will save them. '

'I don't hate you…' said May softly. Suddenly, May flung her arms around Yassen and started to cry again. 'You saved my life,' she whispered.

Yassen… Yassen didn't know what to think. He was finally glad he'd made that decision to let that suicidal, traumatised girl go that day. To see her alive now, and grateful for the life she'd been given made Yassen think that maybe he'd made a difference in someone's life, and a good one for once.

'Thank you,' said May. Letting go of Yassen, she took Caitlin and Erin by the hand and started to run.


	9. Giant Swing

Wow, I'm sorry this was gone for so long. Really, I am. I wrote most of this chapter before I went on my massive leave, but the last bit I wrote recently. I hope that it all still makes sense together :S. Thank you if you're still sticking around!

Enjoy the chapter :)

-Lauren

x.x.x

Yassen knew he had to get moving quickly.

'Come on,' he urged Alex. He shot off into the trees at a pace even the extremely athletic Alex was hard-pressed to keep up with.

Yassen knew a disaster when he saw one – and this truly was a disaster. Yes, he had just rescued two girls from a landmine, but if he guessed correctly, that was just the beginning. There was a lot more to come, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

What kind of motive did this man have, though? Why set up a landmine, and then put two hostages on it? To spook him? To intimidate? Or was it all a trap?

Yassen tried to think, but none of it made sense.

He sighed. If it was a trap, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't let innocent people die while he found out this man's motive. If the other kids were in danger (which they almost certainly were), there were only two people that could stop it, and right now, they were both running through the woods at speeds a marathon runner would be proud of.

x.x.x

There were really no leads, so the finding of the next few kids was either completely due to hero's luck (the inexplicable way that things always seem to go right for heroes) or some uncanny ability of Yassen's. Either way, it wasn't a great situation they found Lucy, Holly, Phillip, Mark and James in.

They were at the edge of the compound, a barbed wire fence 2m tall indicating the perimeter. But technically, the children were out of the compound.

There was a tree, a tall Morton Bay Fig tree that loomed over them like a sacred obelisk. And from one of its wrinkled branches, that reached over the fence, was a rope, suspending the five children in mid air as they dangled _over the edge of a cliff._

And it wasn't a mild cliff that might break a few bones, like the incline Mark and Caitlin had fallen down, but a steep cliff. It was one of the cliffs that Hollywood villains threaten to throw people off, one of those cliffs that you want to drop something over but are too scared to get close to the edge.

Down below was a rocky wasteland, where a dirty stream bubbled almost menacingly.

Yassen quickly assessed the situation – the rope was quite thick, but how much did the kids weigh? There were five of them, 2 girls, 3 boys, so maybe around 350kg. Would the rope hold? Yes, but there was no time for mucking around.

How on earth was he meant to approach this situation? He could see the look of horror on Alex's face, and though Yassen too was horrified, he didn't show it. How scared would the kids be?

He couldn't just cut the rope, or they'd be plummeting to their death at terminal velocity. He obviously had to get them from the height, and away from that dastardly cliff, but how?

They were too far out on the branch to untie themselves, and what for? They were over a cliff! He couldn't just move the rope up the branch, towards safety, because as the branch sprouted from the trunk, it grew thinner as it departed from the middle of the tree. If anywhere, the rope would be going further out over the cliff. The rope's knot was immovable, unless Yassen untied it, and such a thing would certainly spell instant doom.

The kids were too far out and too high up for him to reach them, even from the top of the barbed wire fence. If he could grab hold of them, he could at least bring the rope away from the cliff and bring them down one by one, over the fence. But he couldn't reach them.

Yassen could only think of one solution, but it was riddled with danger. And, he might have to ask Alex to pull it off. The last thing Yassen wanted to do was put the boy in danger – Alex was Yassen's best friend's son, but he knew that he had to ask Alex. It was all or nothing.

'Alex,' said Yassen. 'I need you to do something.'

Alex was eager – Alex wasn't scared. These were his friends and there was no way he wouldn't follow Yassen's orders, but Yassen was scared for Alex. If the rope wasn't strong enough, if there was a split second wrong in the timing…

There was no time to worry. Yassen reprimanded himself and conveyed the instructions to Alex, slowly and carefully, but only once. Time was short.

'Okay,' said Alex, gulping as he looked at the cliff.

Oh, Yassen felt bad. He knew that Alex wouldn't like heights, after all his adventures on MI6 missions. But Yassen was an adult – he was too big, and the rope was more likely to hold with nimble little Alex than bulky, muscular Yassen.

'Go on, Alex,' urged Yassen. Alex paused at the base of the tree. The last thing Yassen wanted to do was push Alex, but Alex needed to move quickly. Yassen held out his hands to give Alex a lift up.

'Okay,' said Alex softly, bracing himself and starting to climb the tree. He placed his feet on Yassen's hands, and though unwilling to transfer his weight, stood firm. Yassen was surprised to find it so easy to lift Alex up – it was a good sign. Alex was light and soon he was climbing the tree, like a jungle boy. It came to Alex with ease – he had tackled far harder things than trees.

Soon, he reached the beginning of the branch that the others were hanging from. Taking time to breathe and brace himself, he started the journey down the branch. One slip and he would fall to his death. The stream was a long way down, he noted. He wrapped his legs around the tree tightly, and slowly shuffled along the branch.

Yassen watched with bated breath. If it had been him instead of Alex, he could get to the end of the branch in seconds without falling – but he had been through rigorous assassin training. Still, Yassen knew better than to rush Alex.

Alex, now, was only a few metres away from the kids. They looked both happy and rather scared to see Alex, not knowing what he was planning but knowing that he was their only hope.

'Guys,' said Alex, trying to appear calm, even though everything inside him was shouting to look down and see how dangerous this was. 'I need you to stay calm.' He didn't think anyone was calm in this situation, but the others nodded their heads obligingly.

'Okay,' said James. 'We're calm.' Alex smiled slightly at his friend. James was trembling – he wasn't calm, but he was making a good impression for the others.

'Good,' said Alex. He shuffled closer to them, until he reached the rope. The whole way, he knew not to look down, or else panic would take hold of his system and who knows what would happen then? But now, he had to climb down the rope, in a particular way, and there was no way he couldn't look down.

He decided to look down before he started climbing, to grow accustomed to it. Keeping his eyes open, he glanced down. Immediately all the alarms in his head went off.

It's too high! It's too dangerous! Run! This is crazy! A tumultuous choir of voices shouted at him to get himself out of there, but Alex listened to the one voice that told him his friends were in trouble and he could save them if only he kept calm and stuck to the task ahead.

The problem was, he couldn't even take the climb down the rope at his own pace. Yassen's plan was exceptional, but scary. He needed to swing them away from the cliff, and cut the rope while they were headed towards safety, on Yassen's side of the fence. However, since they were suspended in mid air, there was nothing to push against, so if Alex joined them slowly, he would be no help at all – just an extra weight. He had to slide down the rope, and while he still had velocity, start all of them swinging.

Sliding down the rope quickly was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had to do it.

'When I come down, I'm going to start swinging,' Alex told them. He watched their faces turn to shock, but James willed them to keep quiet. 'I need you to put your whole weight into it, okay? I'm going to swing towards Yassen first.'

'Okay,' said James. Alex suddenly counted – there was Lucy, Holly, Phillip, Mark and James, 5 of them. May, Caitlin and Erin were heading out of the compound. There was Alex, which altogether equalled 9. But where was Tom? Alex's best friend was missing! He couldn't believe there was more to come.

The thought came at the worst possible time, because suddenly Alex stalled and found himself paralysed.

'Alex?' asked James, watching and waiting. It took all of Alex's willpower to shake himself out of the trance of fear. Before he descended, he took a deep breath.

And then, channelling Tarzan, he let out a cry and unwrapped his legs from the branch, caught hold of the rope with two hands and flew down the rope like a fireman's pole. He knew he had to start swinging, so with all of his weight he threw himself away from the cliff. He and the rest barely moved, Lucy and Holly started screaming, but then they remembered they had to swing.

Slowly, the group gained momentum and started swinging from side to side. It was nerve wracking, being so high up in the air and swinging dangerously. The rope was strained and Yassen's palms were sweating.

They swung higher and higher, shouting with each push to increase their strength.

'I'm going to do it now!' Yassen shouted at Alex. He nodded and kept the others swinging.

Trying to focus, Yassen took out his gun from his holster. He took a deep breath. This would take all his skill, and if it was done wrongly, would spell instant disaster. Yassen was capable, that was for sure. The best shot in the whole history of Scorpia, and equipped with over 3 decades of firearm experience – if there was anyone who could do this, Yassen could.

And yet he knew he couldn't be cocky, and he had to focus and aim properly. From the tree branch, Alex and the other five children were swinging, and gaining considerable speed and movement. He had to shoot soon.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and then started to watch the swinging of the rope. He breathed in time to the swings, felt the rhythm in his brain until he knew exactly what he had to do. He was going to shoot the rope to sever it – it would take too long for Alex to try and cut the rope with a knife, so he used explosive rounds that would break the rope upon impact.

The timing had to be impeccable. Yassen couldn't shoot at the very end of the swing, because that was when the rope was changing directions, nor at the middle, because the children would not fly far enough. The rope needed to have the most velocity it could – Yassen estimated that about three quarters of the way from the equilibrium to the end of the swing would be about right.

He watched the rope, blocking out everything else, aiming and using all his assassin skills. His finger tightened on the trigger. The children swung back and forth.

And then he shot.

With beautiful precision, the momentum of the children continued as they sailed over the fence, back to safety, away from the cliff, flying through the air like a well-thrown javelin. Yassen felt his heart relax, and he put the gun back in its holster.

The children landed with a loud 'thump' on the ground, and Yassen ran over. Perhaps they would have a few broken bones, but the fall had not been that great, the ground was soft and they would not be gravely injured.

He ran over to them quickly, flicking open a Swiss army knife and cutting them free.

'Who are you?' asked James, looking up at their saviour with mixed emotions – both adoration and fear. Well, Yassen inspired fear, there was not much he could do about them. Something about years of assassin training does that to you.

'Doesn't matter,' said Yassen dismissively. 'Are any of you hurt?'

Yassen didn't usually ask whether people were hurt, as he was usually the ones hurting them. Alex did a quick check, and shook his head.

'Okay,' said Yassen. 'Alex, you take these guys out of compound.'

Alex nodded, but Yassen could feel his doubt.

'What is it?' Yassen asked.

'Well... Tom's still in there,' Alex said hesitantly, lowering his head a little.

'I'll find him,' Yassen assured Alex. 'You need to take these ones to safety.'

Yassen's eyes looked determined, and Alex knew that if there was anyone he could trust to return his best friend to him safely, it would be Yassen. Still, Tom was Tom. Tom had helped Alex through a multitude of tough times, and was Alex's best friend (possibly his only friend).

'Okay,' agreed Alex. He had to put his trust in the Russian assassin. Who was Alex, anyway? He was an MI6 spy, but he was still young, with little training. Alex had basically survived all of his "adventures" on a mixture of luck and good timing. He would not be much of a help to Yassen.

'Alex?' said Yassen, sensing Alex's anguish.

'Yes?' said Alex, rather distracted as he helped the girls up off their feet.

'I'll bring Tom back,' Yassen promised. Alex just smiled and nodded.

Last time Yassen and Alex had met, they had been enemies. Or maybe they had been friends, in that jet plane, both of them against Damian Cray. Either way, there was something about Yassen that Alex trusted. He didn't doubt that Yassen would make good on his promise, or would at least try his hardest.

Yassen took a deep breath and sighed. In his life he had done many terrible things – too many to count. After the first couple of years the nightmares had disappeared, but sometimes he could hear whispers in the wind, damning him. He knew saving one life would not atone for the crimes he had committed, but it was definitely a start.


End file.
